Lord Chancellor's Department: Complaints

Lord Goodhart: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many complaints were registered against the Lord Chancellor's Department and its predecessor departments in:
	(a) 1990 to 1996; and
	(b) 1997 to 2002; how many are current; and what proportion were:
	(i) taken up; and
	(ii) upheld by the Parliamentary Ombudsman in this period.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The statistics available for each of the last four financial years are set out in the table. Information before this period is not available. Statistics for the courts as a whole are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		Complaints
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Outstanding as at 31.3.02 
			 Lord Chancellor's Department HQ Not available 9 6 5 2 
			 Public Trust Office(1) 316 396 344   
			 Public Guardianship Office(2)912 288 
		
	
	(1) The Public Trust Office ceased to exist on 31 March 2001.
	(2) The Public Guardianship Office was created on 1 April 2001.
	Details of cases taken up by the Parliamentary Ombudsman are contained in the ombudsman's annual reports which are available in the Library of the House.

Draft Water Bill

Lord Clarke of Hampstead: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they intend to publish the response to the draft Water Bill consultation.

Lord Whitty: The government response to the draft Water Bill consultation is being published today. It considers issues raised by over 150 respondents. Copies of the response are being placed in the Library.
	There was general support for the aims of the Bill, although there were inevitably differences regarding a number of the proposals. The main changes that will be in the Bill as a result of the consultation are: Ofwat will be governed by a regulatory board rather than an individual director general, along similar lines to other economic regulators. This is instead of the advisory panel proposed in the Draft Bill. Ofwat's duty to ensure that water companies are able to secure reasonable returns on their capital will now be retained.
	The draft Water Bill contains provisions in the broad areas of water resource management and better regulation as well as other specific provisions. In particular the draft Bill contains:
	reform of water abstraction licensing to provide new powers to protect the environment and manage water resources more effectively and a requirement on water companies to prepare drought plans and conserve water;
	amendment of the regulatory framework to improve the position of consumers and improve regulatory certainty, and in particular to set up a new, independent consumer council for water;
	reform of the drinking water regulatory regime to cope with industry restructuring and the possible effects of the Competition Act, giving the Drinking Water Inspectorate greater status and increasing the level of fines that magistrates can impose; and
	improvement of the regime for controlling polluting discharges and rationalisation of arrangements for reservoir safety and the regulation of water, sewerage and contaminated land.
	The government response to the draft Water Bill consultation reflects the Government's continued commitment to placing consumers at the heart of regulation and ensuring environmental sustainability in the water industry.
	We aim to introduce the Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Agriculture in the United Kingdom

Lord Kirkhill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the latest volume of Agriculture in the United Kingdom is to be published.

Lord Whitty: Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2001 will be published on Friday 3 May. Copies of this report will be available from the Libraries of the House on that day. It will also be available in electronic form from Defra's website at www.defra.gov.uk/esg/m–publications.htm.

Agrimonetary Compensation

Lord Grenfell: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the policy of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is to claim the outstanding agrimonetary compensation from the European Commission.

Lord Whitty: We have considered the case for payment of optional agrimonetary compensation to the livestock sector. While we acknowledge the difficulties that the sector is facing and are working with it on the recommendations of the policy commission on food and farming, we have decided not to make a claim on these funds given the many competing demands on the Exchequer at present.